A series of pasts
by halfatheory357
Summary: Exactly how it sounds. A quick reference guide to 'Speak No Evil, See No Lies.'


Disclaimer: The following story is entirely fictitious. Any similarity to the history of any person living or dead or any actual event is entirely coincidental and unintentional, except when specifically noted otherwise in the cast and crew credits. All celebrity voices are impersonated and no celebrities have endorsed any aspect of this fic.

However, it is a one-shot chapter of the basic outline of a show, so here is a bit prologue:

_In a lost age, the world is divided into four nations: Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads. Within each nation, there is a remarkable order of men and women called the "Benders" who can learn to harness their inborn talent and manipulate their native element. Bending is a powerful form combining martial art and elemental magic. _

In each generation, only one Bender is solely capable of controlling all four elements. That Bender is the Avatar. The Avatar is the spirit of the world manifested in human form. When the Avatar dies, it reincarnates into the next nation in the cycle. Starting with the mastery of his or her native element, the Avatar learns to bend all four elements. Throughout the ages, the countless incarnations of the Avatar have served to keep the four nations in harmony.

Then, the firebenders attacked. Just as the world needed the Avatar the most, he mysteriously vanished. A hundred years later, the Fire Nation is near final victory in its ruthless war of world domination. The Air Nomads were destroyed, the Air Temples ravished, and all airbender monks eradicated. The Water Tribes were raided and driven to the brink of extinction. The Earth Kingdom remains and fights a hopeless war against the Fire Nation. Many believe the Avatar was never reborn into the Air Nomads and the cycle is broken.

_The entire world suffered, _

_Even those who are friend…_

**_†††_**

Hiashi looked over on the hill of Engoku.

_I totally despise this place, _she thought in her head. "Damn you all!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, frightening the crows from their perch. Her voice echoed within the earth, but no one noticed. No one ever noticed her. She was another waif on the island. Another ignominious child who resided on the land. No one cared any more. Anyone who lived on the island didn't care for the needs of others. Anyone who lived here was a selfish jerk. At least to Hiashi. She had lived on the island for fourteen years and still no one knew who she was. People who had barely spent a week there already were known around the town of three hundred-some people.

"Like I really care," she muttered. She sat down on the green grass, her waist long blood red hair with the foot long black tips brushed the ground, most of it covering the right side of her face, only revealing her glimmering gold eye. She was ashamed of the one behind the makeshift veil. It was a bottle green, one green eye that haunted her.

_If you're quiet, you can hear the heart of the earth beating._ Her father's voice echoed in her head as if he was standing next to her. She never liked her father. It seemed he had always treated her as if he was ashamed of her. "I'm glad you're dead," she snarled to herself.

Just a few days ago, Fire Navy had raided her home, the only one that she had ever known in her life.

_"Get out!" Enjou roared over the flames. "Don't get caught in this!"_

_"Well, why do I have to leave?" Hiashi shouted. "'Can't we just stop the flames? It'd be easi-."_

_"We don't have time!" he shouted. "Get out!"_

_"But father-."_

_"HURRY!" A part of the roof fell. _

_"HEY, YOU!" one of the men shouted. He looked about her age, maybe older._

_"GET OUT HIASHI!" Enjou shouted as loud as he could, fighting off another firebender, literally fire with fire. _

_"Get back here!" the teen called. Hiashi turned to face her predator, the one that degraded her._

_"Bring it!" she snarled. _

_"Fair!" He put his hands together, shooting a whip of fire at her. She jumped over four feet off the ground, twirling in the air, throwing a kick at his head. She landed gracefully on the floor; the naval officer stumbled back, regaining himself. Hiashi looked around for something to bend. Some of the brick wall had fallen apart, pottery shards scattered on the floor._

Well, when life gives you earth, use it to fight your enemy! _She was still a bit shaky; she hadn't used it for over a month. But now she didn't care. This guy wasn't about to get away with what he did to her. She held her hand out to the rock, levitating it. Now that her mind was connected to it, she needed a finishing touch. She hurdled the burning rock at the officer, hitting him squarely in the chest. He quickly regained himself. _

_"If it's a fight you want, bitch, it's a fight you'll get!" No sooner did he say that, then the two became a fury of fists, punches, and kicks. Hiashi turned to look at her father, but he was lost in the smoke. Another post came crashing down, blocking Hiashi from getting to her father._

_"HIASHI! GET OUT, HURRY!" Enjou was merely a few feet away from her, his voice sounding raspy, his breathing uneven and a struggle. She could see the flames coming from his fists as he tried to fight the Fire Navy officer. She got a good look at him. Black hair pulled back in a short ponytail. He had either a beard, or bushy sideburns; she didn't want to debate. What she didn't notice was that her defender was ready to strike. With a flaming foot, he kicked her with all his power in her shoulder, sending her flying against the wall. Another column crashed, trapping her in the flames._

_"Enjoy it, 'cuz you'll be experiencing a lot more flames in Hell!" her competitor snarled. Hiashi screamed in pain, her left shoulder burning, the flames moving down her back. She looked at the guy, his traditional red and black helmet with the skull as the mask had fallen off. His mop of dark red hair was exposed to the flames, his dark brown eyes reflected the orange blaze. His ludicrous laughter was stabbing her as she clenched her teeth, skin searing, her hands balled up into fists, nails digging into her flesh, blood drizzling down her wrist._

_"That's what you think," she growled. She was still an earthbender, and once burned, wood turned to ash, and ash was earth. She connected to some embers, mentally levitating them. "Here's a souvenir!" She swung her leg, twisting her body not only to free herself from her trap, but to throw the smoldering rocks at the guy, the fire burning through his armor to his skin. His screams filled the air, overpowering the growling of the fire, hungry for more fuel. Another part of the roof fell on top of her, appearing fatal._

_"Fuck, dammit! Admiral!" the teen cried. "Let's get out of here! It's way too dangerous! She's already dead!"_

_"Fair!" the other one called. "I'm already done with this one over here." Hiashi froze in her spot. What did the guy mean by 'done'? Before she knew it, another pillar had fallen, snapping her out of her trance. The other two had already left. Hiashi's skin still burned, her father's words still echoed in her head. So she freed herself from the wreckage, grabbed her only prized possession, the violin her father handcrafted himself, her jacket, and ran out of the falling house. _

She ran her fingers over the birch wood veneer, delicately touching the nylon strings. Four thorn vines weaved themselves on the right side of the violin. Four flowers resided on each branch: a blood red Fire Rose, a powder blue Water Lily, an orange Wind Petal, and a beige Earth Chrysanthemum, underneath, her name engraved in gold kanji. She remembered how long it had taken her father to make it. The countless hours and weeks he had spent creating the violin especially for her, all to say he was sorry.

_Enjou crouched down to her height, revealing what he had been working on for nearly a month. The violin reflected in the adolescent's eyes, captivated by the glow. She scanned over the highly polished instrument, looking over every detail _

_"You said that words couldn't help, so I hope this will." A three year-old Hiashi looked up at him with a quizzical stare. "That's what you said, right?" She looked back down at the handicraft, reached out as if to touch it, but drew her hand back, gluing it to her side. "It won't bite, go ahead and touch it." Her eyes drifted over the instrument, yearning to hold it, but she tore her eyes away._

_"No," she declared firmly. "I won't touch it."_

_"Why not?" he asked, hurt by her sudden outburst._

_"Because- because if I do, then you'll be getting your way." Her voice didn't falter, her statement firm._

_"Look," he said softly, "I don't know what you're thinking-."_

_"And you never will," she interrupted._

_"And I never will," he repeated, slightly annoyed, "but you have to understand something-."_

_"What? What do I have to understand? That the world is better without mommy's head attached to her neck, or that you forgot who you're talking to?" Enjou was taken aback by her words._

_"Look," he said, voice cracking, "I never said that! I would never say that!"_

_"Then why did you do it?" she asked with a tight voice. "Why did you kill her?" He stared at her, upset with her distress._

_"You want to know why I did it?" he asked slowly, his voice breaking. "I did it because your mother and I both love you. I-if I didn't do what I did, not only would she be dead, but so would I, you, your sister, your aunt, grandma and grandpa, and the entire village would be gone. That was your mother's village and she would go to the ends of the universe to protect it, even if it meant that she would have to die. Your mother and I love you so much that I had to do it. You need to know," he stopped to take a breath, eyes glittering with tears, "that your mother was a strong woman. She loved you and would go to any lengths to protect you. She just happened to need to do this. This was her choice. I just had to be the one to carry it out. _

_"Please, don't hate me. You don't have to forgive me, you don't have to forget this, and you don't have to even like me. I just don't want you to hate me. Please, take this. I want you to have it." _

_She stared down at it, the violin calling her name. "Fine," she mumbled. "I will forgive you for now, and take the violin, but I won't stop thinking about, nor will I like you for what you did. But if mommy desires me to, I'll oblige myself to like you." He handed her the treasure, Hiashi cradling it in her arms as if it were glass. He handed her the bow, then she walked off, not turning back._

"You're a moron." Memories echoed in her head, playing over and over again like a broken record. "You were always a moron." And yet, she still tried and listened. She listened for the pulse of the planet. But it wasn't there. It vanished along with her hope. She stared at the orange sky, the sun slowly being dragged down into the abyss of the sky. She laid on her back, wincing as her side touched the cold grass.

The voices weren't the only thing that scarred her. She barely escaped with the burn that went from her entire left shoulder, running down her side. She choked back her tears, the tears that she held in ever since she was a child. Hiashi wasn't one to cry. She figured that crying was for weaklings. She stared up at the sky as her rat, Hyroki, ran at her feet. Hyroki wasn't a normal rat.

He was a fire rat. A very large one in fact, the size of a puppy. He had huge bat wing-looking ears, glowing red eyes, jet black fur, and a red lightning bolt-shaped stripe running from the tip of his nose to his back along with sharp fangs hanging out from his mouth, his tail like an overgrown grey worm. He had a gash across his stomach, a deep red gash exposing the pink skin. She had no idea how he had gotten the wound. She found him with the slash, she helped him get better, and before she knew it, Hyroki was following her around.

"You're the only one who understands me, Hyroki. I wish I could leave these parts, but I can't. The world doesn't want me. I'm just here. The other nations won't accept me because I'm a firebender. The Fire Nation won't accept me because- well I'm an impure human." Her past still filled her head. Unfortunately for her, it was her first memory.

The Fire Nation invaded an Earth Kingdom island by the name of Kuusai Isles, no sooner had they done that, that they invaded a town called Chikyuu. Enjou, a fellow firebender, was part of the Navy. He was shipped out there seventeen years ago to that very village. He was sent to keep anyone that might be with the resistance in order. But he failed when he met a young woman, who went by the name of Saki; she was about sixteen and an earthbender. The two fell in love, but they were to keep it secret. The only one who knew was her older sister, Touka.

But their fantasy came to a crashing halt when one of the naval officers discovered their hidden relationship. Of course, by then, they already had two children: her and her sister. They ordered Enjou to make a choice. He could either be killed or kill Saki. They never said that they would not hurt her. He saw that if he chose to have himself killed, ruthless as they are, they could do anything to her and he couldn't protect her. But then he would have to kill the woman he loved so much. He was outnumbered by thirty. He knew that if he fought back, he could hurt innocent people.

"So you had to kill her. What an **idiot**"

When he was shipped back, he took her instead of her sister, because she looked more like a firebender. He left her sister in the care of Touka. Hiashi never knew her sister, let alone what her name was. Her sister was just a ghost, just some kind of imprint in her memory. Maybe she didn't exist...

"She's nothing," Hiashi laughed to herself. "Your past is nothing! It's worthless." And yet, Hiashi still found herself listening, still listening for the beating of the earth's heart. "STOP IT!" she shouted to herself. She jolted up, angry at herself to give in to such foolishness. Not only did blood rush to her head, but her fears and her first memory…

_"Damn it, Enjou, I will give you ten seconds before you die on the spot you stand in," a superior man in a red armor with graying shoulder length hair and a beard growled._

_"But sir-."_

_"Eight… seven…"_

_Enjou turned to his wife, cowering on the floor, up against the wall, side leaning up against her trap, knees drawn to her chest. Saki nodded. She had fear in her eyes, unmistakable fear, yet she still nodded anyway. Both knew what trouble they'd cause if this didn't happen. Their children would be killed, the entire town burned to the ground. Enjou turned to his daughters. Hiashi held her little sister, her fear-stricken faces illuminated by the fire. He wouldn't be able to see his children grow up. But if he did this, he would be covered with the blood of the woman he loved. _

_He turned back to Saki, her face covered with a mixture of blood, sweat, tears and dirt. Her bottle green eyes glowed from the light, her long, straight black hair a mess, covering most of her face. He knew she was scared, but she wasn't one to give into fear. When she needed to do something, she had perseverance, no matter what the cost was… _

_"Three… two…"_

_"I'm sorry, my dearest Saki…"_

_"ONE…" Enjou drew his sword, Saki's fearful eyes reflecting in the metal, the uncanny Fire metal. She bit her lip for the impact. She closed her eyes, praying to the Creator that her children would be safe. _

You have to do this_, was all that was going through her head._ Be strong_…_

_"I'm so sorry," Enjou whispered again, choking. And with one swift movement, the sound of cutting flesh filled the air. Saki's head fell from her shoulder, rolling across the floor, stopping at the feet of Hiashi. Hiashi stared at it, eyes wide, breath gone, body inert. Her sister had her face buried in her dress, her eyes not looking at the head of their mother staring at them. Her mind was still, her mind empty. She did the only thing her mind knew how to do-_

_"**AAAHHHHHH**!" Her bloodcurdling scream filled the room. The man's eye twitched. He felt guilty for the child, but his face was negated of emotion. He needed to keep his stance. _

_"I hope this has taught you something, Enjou. You are to leave tomorrow. I will address Fire Lord Ozai of your betrayal. You are officially in exile. I'll leave you here to grieve." He turned on his heel, and left the family. Enjou immediately turned and hastily walked to his daughters. He crouched down to their height. He gently put his hand on Hiashi's back, but she flinched._

_"Hiashi, Tsu-."_

_"GET AWAY FROM ME YOU MONSTER!" was all Hiashi could get out of her mouth, slapping his hand away. He drew back his arm, pained by both her strike and her words. "Get away…" The little girl cried, crying harder than she had ever done before. The man was frozen, still stunned at her words, but hung his head, his black and red hair hanging in his face. His brilliant gold eyes had none of the joy they once did._

She's right, _he solemnly thought._ I'm a monster. Nothing more_… He turned to leave, looking back to see his daughter weeping, holding on tightly to her sister._

_"Whap's matter, Hi-chi?" a muffled voice asked. A head looked up, her small mind unaware of what was going on._

_She won't remember, Hiashi thought. "Nothing, Tuki-ki. Daddy won't hurt you. No evil people will hurt you. I'll protect you." Enjou looked at the two with a sad face, but hung his head and walked out of the hut. "Trust me Hiashi," he choked, "that would be the last thing I would want to do…"_

"Well, it was," she mumbled to herself. "That was the last thing you did; I hope you're content. Bastard…" She drew her knees to her chest, hugged her legs, and rested her chin on her knees. Her eyes were heavy from stress and emotion, her mind clouded from all of her thoughts. She lifted up her arm, rested her elbow on her knee, and relaxed her forehead in her fingers. "When did I turn into this?" she mumbled. She still didn't know. The burn on her back stung violently. She winced as the burn throbbed, but she still tried to ignore it. She could remember all of the stuff she used to do. She still remembered how she got here…

_The boat docked on the island, waiting for Enjou. He turned to see his youngest, frolicking around, levitating rocks, oblivious of the night's previous events. Touka had a watchful eye on the toddler. Enjou sighed, watching the child he wouldn't see grow up._

Sweet, innocent Tsuchi. You will never know me as I will never finish watching you grow up. It might be better if you forgot me. It would be easier for you to live… _He turned to look for Hiashi. She was sitting under the shade of the Deku Tree, watching the leaves fall, igniting any one that the earth beckoned. She had a solemn look on her face. Both her right brilliant gold eye and left glittering bottle-green eye had lost their luster. Her small body was dull, unmoving from her concentration. Enjou frowned, feeling guilty for what she had seen._

_"_**GET AWAY FROM ME YOU MONSTER!"**

_His eye twitched, her small voice echoing in his mind._

_"Enjou!" the man yelled. He turned to see theman walking towards him. "The ship is waiting for you. What is taking so long?"_

_"H-hold on," he stuttered. "Lemme just-." _

_"Fair enough," the he interrupted. "You have fifteen minutes." And he left with no other words. There was something, Enjou could have sworn he saw a glimmer of guilt in the old man's eye. He shook it off as nothing. He walked over to his daughter, crouching down to her level. The small child looked at him and turned her back. _

_"You know," he said with a smile, "I could easily poke you with your back turned." The child whirled around._

_"What?" she asked sternly. The twenty year-old looked at his daughter. If it was possible, the three year-old looked more mature than the night before. "What?" she repeated more fiercely. _

_"Hi-chi," he spoke to her in a soothing voice. She was glaring at him, but he knew that she was listening. "I-I'm sorry… for what you saw last night. It shouldn't have ended like that." He dropped his head in shame again, his daughter still staring at him._

_"That's it?" she stated. "Just an act of contrition? Dammit, did you really believe that 'sorry' could fix everything? It's just a word! Words can't heal… only hurt." He looked up at her, surprised at what knowledge she had._

She's a smart child,_ he told himself. "I understand so, but might you accept my apology?" She gave him a blank stare. Enjou waited with hope for her answer, but it faded away when she shook her head._

_"You don't get it! Words are useless! They're just there! Mankind just uses them for communication. They can't ameliorate anything! 'Sorry' won't obliterate what I saw! You're absurd to think that it will fix anything." He frowned and thought for a moment. She didn't notice, but she had ignited the tree.Enjou extended his arm, putting the fire out._ Shrubbery is not safe around this child when she is troubled.

If I want her to go with me, then I have to convince her. But she doesn't trust me._ He had an idea. "Well," he said nonchalantly, "I was going to ask you if you'd like to come with me, but I guess you don't want to." She didn't say anything. She sat there, arms and legs crossed, lower lip quivering, looking away from him out into the ocean, the sun staring down at its reflection. "I guess I'll take Tsuchi-."_

_"No," she said firmly._

_"What?" _

_"No. I don't trust you with her. If you take her, I don't know what you'll do."_

Just like I thought_. She stood up and looked him dead in the eye._

_"I'm going. I'm going because I don't trust you…" He stood up and looked down on the child. She was mature, despite her three foot stature. She was adult enough to know what was going on._

_"Very well," he muttered. Hiashi shoved passed him, walking in the direction of the hut she lived in._

What happened? You were such a sweet child, always laughing. Now you are oblivion. Just an emotionless void, an abyss of sadness… _He heaved a sigh, walking towards the ship. Tsuchi was still clueless. She wouldn't remember this. She was too young. It was better he just left. And with that, he walked to the ship to wait for Hiashi…_

She stood up, shaking her head, concentrating her energy on the dirt. It fell off her pants and jacket. Being both an earthbender and a firebender had its advantages. She didn't know why she was so sour to her father. All he wanted was the best for her.

_But he did it in all the wrong ways._

"Come on, Hyroki," she said, "let's find a building to sleep on tonight."

'-'

She found her building to stay on for the night. The owner didn't know, but what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

"This is the only place we can stay for the night until we can get a permanent place." Hyroki was indulging himself with a loaf of bread he had swiped from the market.

"You retard, give me a piece." She yanked the loaf away from the rat, tearing off a large chunk that the rodent didn't touch. She threw the piece back at the overgrown rat, resting her back against the wall, twitching when her burned skin touched the cold stone. The only separation between the wall and the burn was her shirt and jacket.

It was an ordinary jacket. It was scarlet with black trimming. The cuffs were black, held up by small gold buttons. The jacket folded over. Supporting it were two gold latches at the top and some ties at the bottom of either side. Her father had bought it custom made for her. It had lasted her for so long, about three or four years. She inhaled deeply and heaved a sigh.

"I wonder if this is life from now on…" She turned to her right to see a guy a little more than a few hundred yards away.

He looked about her age, ranging from sixteen to seventeen. He looked bald, but he had a ponytail a foot long, black hair pulled back. He wore an outfit that said he was Fire Navy. But what caught her attention was the left side of his face. It looked like it had been burned. _Probably battle wound. Welcome to my world. That shit-tacular Fire Navy, all high and mighty in that hotel balcony._ She glared at him, but tore her stare away. He looked like he was thinking.

_"_He may not be all that bad." She sat there for a while, bored out of her mind; the "navy officer" suddenly lost her interest. She closed her eyes, meditating away all of her stress. Hyroki, bored out of his mind, wandered away, looking for something to do. She opened her left eye slightly, watching the rat leave. She sighed but didn't say anything. Hyroki was a big baby and would come back once he found himself something to do or if he got scared. Feeling relaxed and a bit weak after losing her energy in the fire because of her tattoo along withrunning from Fire Navy for the past three or four days, push-ups came to her mind next.

She had completely forgotten about her tattoo. She couldn't believe she had gotten it. It was supposed to block of her earthbending abilities, making her a pure-blooded firebender. But that was a month ago. She was supposed to keep it away from heat for two months, according to the sage who gave it to her. She had to go through excruciating pain for three days just to belong somewhere, but now it was for nothing. The mark was useless now. It consisted of three triangles (like the Star of David, only with an extra triangle) a black one, a red one, and one with black on the outside, a red line closely following on the inside. A black wave went one the left side, red dots in the curves, while a reflection of it was on the other side, only it was a red wave with black dots. She only got it to prove to Sureiyaa she was loyal. But she didn't exactly take it to heart.

_"You damn bitch!" Sureiyaa snapped at her. She was older than Hiashi by three years. She was in the street gang for ten years, and she had scars to prove it. Her face looked young, yet it looked like it had been fashioned from wood. Her long inky hair was pulled back in a braid, wrapped with red ribbon, flaunting off their colors. "You lied to us. You're just a filthy mudblood!"_

_"I'm going to resolve it!" Hiashi snapped. "It won't be protracted__, just-."_

_"Grab her, Yousei, Gingitsune, Shiden! Yanki isn't going anywhere. "Those who Hiashi called friends held her, making sure she didn't leave. Sureiyaa walked up to her. "Whether the hell you'll fix it or not, you filthy human, you're not getting away with lying to us." She struck her hard in the stomach with her fist. "Does that hurt?" she laughed at her. She struck her again, only this time it was with her foot. "Are you sorry now?" Hiashi tried to keep herself up, But Sureiyaa made sure she stayed off her feet. She grabbed her favorite toy, a stake she stole from a ship, and struck her upside the head with it. "How about now?" she laughed. "Does it hurt?" _

_Before Hiashi could say anything, Sureiyaa grabbed her by the hair and slammed her head against the wall. __"You damn mud blood! Do you want your mommy? Oh that's right! The whore's dead! I can't believe you lied to us! You can't do anything! No one wants you!" She struck her several more times until her head hung, her entire face bloody. "What do you have to say now, bitch?" Hiashi waited before speaking._

_"Fuck off and die, Sureiyaa," she said quietly._

_"What?" she asked, as if she couldn't believe what she had heard._

_"You heard me!" she said louder. "Fuck off and die, Sureiyaa! I'm not about to fall for you just because you assume I'm a_ _catastrophe! It's not my lapse I'm not pure-blooded! Impugn my father! He's the one who made me like this! So stop ragging on me for not doing anything!" Sureiyaa stared at her. Hiashi hoped she made a point, but she made a mistake. Sureiyaa struck her harder in the head with the butt of the stake._

_"You damn slut!" she snarled at her. "Thinking you're so high and mighty with your high vocabulary! Take her, and finish her off!" she said to her lackeys. "You're out of here, Yanki. If I see your filthy mixed face again, I'll kill you." Sureiyaa walked away, leaving Hiashi to her fate._

She shuttered. Not really fighting the urge with her push-ups, she was curious to see if she could break her previous record of thirty. "No use not trying." She positioned herself, and to turn things up a notch, she tried her best at one-armed push-ups. She had completed forty when a voice caught her attention.

"Who's up there?" a faint voice called from the inside of the building. She shot her head up and reacted immediately.

"Shit!" she growled. She quickly stood up, ran to the ledge of the roof, and jumped off. It was quite a tall building, but she didn't notice. She landed like a cat on the floor, stumbled to regain herself, and ran off into the forest that was next to the house. She heard the latch door open from the top of the roof.

"Why do I always shout first? Just gives them a chance to run away. Well, I'm an idiot," she heard the old man say before going back into the building. She looked around.

_Good, no one's watching._ She slunk down, and crept into the shrubbery. _With my luck, someone will follow me,_ she thought. She was right. The guy she had seen earlier had come walking towards the forest. She cursed under her breath and did the only thing she could think of: she ran up to one of the trees and perched herself on a high branch.

The teen walked quietly into the small forest, careful not to disturb anything, watching for anything that moved. He didn't know that someone was watching him though.

_Why am I here? I have better things to do than play hide and seek,_ he thought. He turned around to leave.

_What a moron!_ she thought_. Doesn't he know how easy it'd be for me to kill him? His back is turned and he doesn't even care._ She flipped upside down in the tree, hanging from the branches by her leg. Her hair fell down below her, uncovering her green eye._ How'm I going to do this?_ The sun was irritating her right eye, the glare annoying her. She slightly closed it to deflect the glare. _Perfect._

_"_You know, it'd be really easy for me to kill you right about now," she called to him.

He wheeled around to see her hanging upside-down on a tree bough. She got a better look at him. His eyes were a yellowish-orange, or maybe gold. He was wearing a high-collared shirt, gold trimming for the collar only. Most of the top part was armor-like, the trimming of that was a dark red in the shape of a wide 'W', the inside of the trimming a darker red.

"What the hell do you mean?" he spat. He also had a long sleeved shirt under, a brown color. Not in her opinion the best outfit ever, but it was Fire Navy attire and it matched. He was one of them. He didn't ask who she was yet, so maybe he wasn't another one looking for her. She looked down at his shoes: black boots.

_Yup, he's Navy alright._

"I'm just saying. It'd be easy for me to kill you. You really need to have more vigilance."

"I have vigilance," he snapped. "I have better things to do than argue such a stupid topic."

_What an ass! I should show him…_ When he whirled around and started to storm off, she hatched an idea. Quickly focusing her mind on a small rock on the floor, she mentally hurled it at his head, hitting him with a clunk. He twisted around to see Hiashi, still perched, her long hair shining and swaying with the gentle breeze.

_"_What the hell was that for!" he growled.

"You're not vigilant, and I just proved it. Now, see a vigilant person would have ducked." She smiled as he glared at her. It was funny to watch his confusion.

"This is stupid! Why did I come out here?" He turned back around and started to make his way back.

_Jack ass,_ she thought. She focused on another rock to hit him with, this time, it was on fire.

_"_What the fu-"he turned again, and she hadn't moved. She was still hanging upside down from the branch. She laughed in her head when she saw the confused look on his face.

"Well," she said, uncrossing her arms, one hand grasping the branch and flipping herself over, her eyes never leaving the mysterious guy. She fixed her hair to cover her face. The last thing she needed was for the guy she didn't even know the name of to find out that she was a hybrid. "I'd figured a guy like you would know the meaning of vigilance. Apparently, you don't."

"I know damn well what vigilance means!" he hissed. "I don't need vocabulary lessons from someone childish enough to hide in a tree."

_Jack ass._

_"_If you do know what vigilance means, prove it."

"That's easy, it's-." He thought for a moment. The teenager knew what it meant, but didn't know how to put it in words.

"Lemme help you. Vigilance is a noun. The definition is the condition of being watchful and alert, especially to danger. You, my fellow pyro, are not."

"And what makes you think you are?" he retorted.

"Sir, I know that I'm heedful. I have to be anyway."

"What makes you think I don't?"

"I never said you don't. I'm just saying-."

"Then get the hell out of here. I have better things to do." He stormed off again, but his attempts failed.

"You know, you're really irascible. Has anyone told you that?" He stopped and turned to face her. She just stood there, emotionless. "I'd say you're refractory too, but that means the same thing, so it'd be useless."

"You just love vocabulary, don't you?" he said sarcastically.

"Well, your comment seemed a bit caustic, to answer your question." She slowly walked towards him, one step at a time. "It helps to be erudite in vocabulary than dim." She could tell that he was trying to stare her down, but she stared back. One thing she also learned was to never back down. He was trying hard not to laugh at what he saw as foolishness.

"You're funny. Now get the hell out of my face."

"Heinous now are we? Someone really needs to teach you how to control your derision."

"Whatever the hell you said- just get out of here. I don't have time for this."

"Don't think I didn't see you up in that chic citadel of yours. You were doing nothing! What time are you talking about?" She looked smugly at him. She hit a nerve.

"Who are you to think you could talk to me like that!" he snapped, unintentionally igniting a leaf.

_Firebender,_ she thought_. Shit._ She raised an eyebrow, trying to play innocent, but inside, she was panicking._ I was hoping it wouldn't come to this! Quick make up an alias…_

_"_I'm Sara," she lied. It was the first name that popped in her head. It was the name of her neighbor. _Sorry, Sara. "_Who the hell are you?" She wasn't about to give him her name without getting a name back.

_"_I don't need to tell you," he sneered. "It's not like I'll ever see you again. He turned and walked to the hotel, not looking back.

"Oh, I doubt it," she muttered. "I doubt it."

**_†††_**

To view more of this story, go to my penname and scroll down to the story "Speak no evil, see no lies." For any information on the characters, feel free to contact me.

During computer class, I was making the corrections to the story (which, by the way, I got a 99. I didn't get a 100 because of mechanics) the guy who sits next to me (Eto) dared me to make the font the largest word document had (size 72). Guess how many paged it was? **_489!_** Yeah. So I'll probably use this story to post up stuff. Maybe like how Enjou and Saki met. Maybe...


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